KOCHI: The Cyberdome of the Kerala police in Kochi recently uncovered a significant cyber fraud scheme in which fraudsters established counterfeit websites of an electric scooter manufacturing company to embezzle money from individuals interested in purchasing scooters.
In response to the Cyberdome’s discoveries, the Ernakulam rural cyber police initiated a case against an unidentified individual responsible for creating these fake websites, which displayed the name and product of the Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer, Simple Energy.
During routine social media monitoring, authorities at the Kochi Cyberdome identified counterfeit websites under the guise of Simple Energy gaining traction on various social media platforms. These fake websites, such as simpllenergy.in, simpleenergybooks.com, and simpleenergye.online, mirrored the original website, www.simpleeenergy.in, and were circulated on the social media, offering booking options for potential scooter buyers.
“It was observed that numerous individuals were enquiring about the electric vehicle on the fraudulent website, which also provided booking options. People posing as company executives reached out to potential buyers. We promptly red-flagged these websites and reported the matter to the Ernakulam rural cyber police station for further investigation and registration of a case,”said a Cyberdome police officer.
The Cyberdome and Ernakulam rural police have notified the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) regarding the existence of these fake websites. Authorities are currently investigating whether any residents of the state fell victims to the scam. The electric scooter manufacturer has issued a cautionary statement on its official website, emphasising the prevalence of such fraudulent activities in the online electric scooter market.
“As new generation electric scooter manufacturers sell vehicles online, the fraudsters are using it as an opportunity to steal money from innocent people. There were similar cheating incidents related to other electric scooter manufacturers reported earlier,” the officer said.
M B Latheef, the station house officer at the Ernakulam rural cyber police station, disclosed the ongoing efforts to track down the individuals behind the creation of the counterfeit websites. He highlighted a particular case registered at the Nedumbassery police station, wherein an individual from Nedumbassery incurred financial losses after attempting to book electric scooter online.
“The fraudulent website closely resembled the original one. We discovered that a young person from Nedumbassery was duped by the perpetrators. Additionally, another individual from the district was contacted by a person, but fortunately, they refrained from further engagement,” he said.